I Stopped Nigerian Aircraft From Evacuating Me From Guinea-Bissau —Jonathan

Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan has explained why he was evacuated from Guinea-Bissau aboard an aircraft sent by Côte d’Ivoire, saying that they were the ones who asked Nigerian aircraft not to bother.

He said that both Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire had made arrangements to send aircraft to evacuate him, but Côte d’Ivoire was able to secure flight clearance ahead of Nigeria.

Jonathan, who made these comments while speaking to journalists after his arrival on Friday, expressed gratitude to Nigerians, the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, and President Bola Tinubu for the concern shown to him when he was trapped in what he described as a “ceremonial coup” in Bissau.

“While we were in Bissau and this so-called coup happened, the information we got was that the whole country was agitated, young and old, irrespective of religious or political divides,” Jonathan said.

Recall that a member of the House of Representatives representing the Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Federal constituency of Rivers State, Awaji-Inombek Abiante, had criticised the Bola Tinubu-led administration for what he described as an alarming silence in the face of Jonathan’s ordeal in Guinea-Bissau.

In a post shared on his social media platforms, Abiante expressed deep concern that it took the intervention of Côte d’Ivoire’s president to evacuate Jonathan from the troubled nation and return him safely to Nigeria.

Viral videos of Jonathan’s return to Abuja also confirmed that the plane belongs to the République de Côte d’Ivoire, as boldly displayed on its fuselage, which, according to him, should have come from the Nigerian government.

Explaining, Jonathan said, “Both presidents were to send aircraft to lift us, but somehow, Côte d’Ivoire is closer to Guinea-Bissau. They were able to penetrate their system to get a landing permit before Nigeria could do that.

“So, the Ivoirian aircraft was already on its way to pick us up, and when we learnt that the Nigerian aircraft was about to leave, we asked them not to bother. That is why you are seeing the pictures that I was brought by an Ivorian aircraft.”

Jonathan also dismissed what happened in Guinea-Bissau as a conventional military coup, saying the circumstances were highly unusual and contradictory.

“It was the President, President Umaro Embaló, who announced the coup before a military man later came up to address the world that they were in charge of everything. By then, President Embalo had announced the coup, which is strange.”

He explained that while the coup took place, Embalo continued to communicate using his phone and address media organisations across the world freely while claiming to be detained.

“I’m a Nigerian, close to 70, and I know how they keep heads of state when a coup takes place. Recently, I was the ECOWAS mediator in Mali, and during that period, we had a military coup.

“The military doesn’t take over the government, and the sitting president that they overthrew would be allowed to be addressing press conferences and announcing that he has been arrested. Who is fooling whom?” he queried.

Jonathan, who served as an ECOWAS mediator in Guinea-Bissau during earlier conflicts, said the latest events were quite disturbing to him.

“Basically, what happened in Guinea-Bissau is quite disturbing to me, who believes in democracy. In fact, I feel more pain than the day I called Buhari to congratulate him when I lost the election as a sitting president,” he said.

He recalled his long-standing involvement in efforts to restore stability to Guinea-Bissau during his time in office. He explained that when Guinea-Bissau plunged into crisis in 2012, he personally intervened in 2013 and worked with stakeholders to ensure that elections were conducted by 2014

“In fact, it was so bad the day that I learnt that a military man went to the office of the Prime Minister and slapped the Prime Minister. It was that bad,” he said.

According to Jonathan, the events in Guinea-Bissau are a setback for democratic stability in the country.